Aerosol pollution or a volcanic eruption, which both increase how much sunlight is reflected by the atmosphere, can cause changes in rainfall and temperature thousands of kilometers away, months later. How “teleconnections” explain the process by which melting Arctic ice warms the tropical Pacific.

See also: Big-budget films tell us earthquakes are bad, volcanic eruptions can be catastrophic, and meteorite strikes—barring the presence of Bruce Willis—may kill us all. Experts weigh in on how scared we should be.

And what about the “lowest known musical note in the universe”? It turns out to be a tone emitted by the galaxy cluster Abell 426, 250 million light years away.While math and music are intimately linked, music creates complexity, and eschews measurement.